I think there is a need for mobile devices to allow the end user to pick from a broad selection of services, and have the chosen services very easy to access – for example on the idle screen. The entry point of the service should be as immediate as possible – and not require a connection to a server to provide the first screen – so the user can quickly dip in and out of the services. Moving beyond this is where the mobile device starts to adapt the services offered depending on location, profile or incoming events on the network.

The iPhone has shown demand for both great browser experience and great ‘on-device’ experiences, and these can co-exist because they address two different use cases. The challenge we face as an industry is how to extend these concepts to lower end and feature phones.

Dave

At the moment, they are -perhaps – more graphically rich than the browser and boosted by the euphoric growth of the iPhone and its usage. But they will fail. Look to the web world. How many widgets do you have running on a PC compared to the number of sites you visit through your browser?

There may be a place for some widgets but these will not dominate interaction with content and services on the phone: the browsers will. There is not one compelling reason (not UI, not personalisation) why Widgets offer more than the browsers.

Of course, I am probably wrong too but readers of the above post should take a long think before making their investment strategy on the basis of it (written as it is by an evolving but predominantly client-based company with an operator client base).

The good news is: without diverse views there would be no innovation. More power to the evolving industry.